Prior art continuous plating systems present problems wherein unwanted electrolytic plating results outside of the desired plating area caused by the splashing of plating solution, particularly in the areas where the material to be plated enters and exits the plating chamber. Continuous plating is necessary in plating continuous strips of material such as lead frames used in semiconductor production. The lead frames are usually punched from continuous metal strips and separated at a later time, for example, after a semiconductor device has been mounted on the lead frame, and the mounted devices are separated for individual encapsulation. For this reason it is desirable to be able to plate selected areas of the lead frames prior to separation.
Burning, due to uncontrolled flow of the plating fluid also results, and fumes caused by the splashing of solution can be hazardous.